§ Mr. IRVINGasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, having regard to the fact that profiteering is the direct result of the scarcity of all articles of common use and consumption by the public caused by the War, and that the problem of dealing with excessive profits charged is a national one, he will consider the question of defraying the whole of the expenses of local committees under the Profiteering Act, 1919, out of the national Exchequer, as in the case of local tribunals under the Military Service Acts and the food control committees, etc.?
§ Sir A. GEDDESI would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Plaistow on the 1st December.
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§ Sir H. NIELDasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can inform the House of the results so far achieved by the Profiteering Act and particularly what, under the heading of classified trades, is the total number of complaints made and investigated by committees and tribunals against retailers; what is the total of the sums ordered to be refunded; what is the total number of appeals from local committees and how many were allowed; what has been the cost incurred or estimated to the end of November or for the six months working contemplated by the Act; and how many prosecutions have been instituted and what has been the number of convictions up to the end of November?
§ Sir A. GEDDESAs regards the first part of the question I would refer the hon. and learned Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade to the hon. Member for Aberdare on the 18th November. I am unable to give particulars of the number of complaints dealt with by local committees under classified trades. Reports for November have not yet been received from all local committees; the Reports received show that 1,935 cormplaints had been investigated up to the end of November, refunds being ordered or a price declared in 398cases. The particulars supplied by local committees do not enable me to give the total amount of the sums ordered to be refunded. Appeals against decisions of local committees have been lodged in seventy-one cases, of which number seven cases had been decided by the Appeal Tribunals on or before 30th November, the appeal being allowed in five cases. The cost incurred by the Board of Trade in administering the Profiteering Act, excluding stationery, rents and lighting, to the 30th November is estimated at, approximately, £4,500. Prosecutions have been ordered by local committees in eighty-two cases, of which twenty-eight had been decided by the end of November, convictions being obtained in twenty-four cases.